1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a locking and ejecting apparatus, and more particularly to a locking and ejecting apparatus for a portable computer with bay structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable computers are commonly called notebook or subnotebook computers, which are small enough to carry. As portable computers have increased in sophistication and decreased in size, efforts have been made to increase the amount of stored data and the number of peripheral devices. In order to provide greater flexibility in the operation of a portable computer system, it is often desirable to incorporate several module devices into the system by supplying an internal bay within the portable computer. The internal bay can flexibly hold one or more removable module devices such as a CD ROM drive, a floppy disk drive, a DVD ROM drive. Further, many applications permit the module device to be removed or interchanged for reasons of data security, backup purposes or for expanding a system.
However, one problem arising with the existing removable design in portable computer is the retaining mechanism of a module device. The traditional one-sided latch of the retaining mechanism for a removable module device is often unreliable to lock the module device in the internal bay. Besides, it is hard to remove the module device from the portable computer by griping it out after releasing the retaining mechanism. Consequently, what is needed for the removable design of the module device is reliable installation and easy removal for usage by the portable computer system.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for locking and ejecting a module device having reliable latching and easy removal of the module device.
The invention achieves the above-identified objects by providing an apparatus for locking and ejecting a module device inserted in an internal bay of a portable computer. The locking and ejecting apparatus includes a latching mechanism, an ejection mechanism, a first string and a second string. The latching mechanism is for locking the module device in a locked position or unlocking the module device from the locked position. And the ejection mechanism is for ejecting the module device on disengagement of the latching mechanism from the locked position. When the module device is inserted into the internal bay in a locked position, the rotatable latch engages one side of the module device and the movable latch engages the other side of the module device.
During the unlocking and ejecting operations, the second button is pulled right after the first button is pressed. The rotatable latch rotates around the pivot and the movable latch moves along to disengage the module device. The push arm is then driven to draw the push rod. Thus, the push rod carries the module device outward and the module device is ejected.
After the module device is released from the locked position and ejected out of the internal bay. The first spring positioned to generate a first force restores the latching mechanism by moving the movable latch, rotating the rotatable latch and returning the first button back to original positions. The second spring positioned to generate a second force restores the ejection mechanism by moving the push rod back to the original position.